Pages

Friday, August 22, 2008

One jump ahead of the hoofbeats...

One hop ahead of the hump
One trick ahead of disaster

They're quick, but I'm much faster

Here goes, better throw my hand in

Wish me happy landin'

All I gotta do is jump!!!

Before I became a mom, I didn't realize how much brain power and energy I was going to have to exert to keep up with my kiddos. Not just keep up with them, but at least a couple steps ahead!! If I'm not proactive, we'll end up reactive... and the whole scene becomes quite unattractive.

We just returned from 3 fun filled days at Disneyland and Disney California. When I was a young adult, I loved the spontaneity and freedom of roaming the park from early morning until midnight, deciding the day's events on a whim. With my boys, that just isn't feasible... they need a plan.

It all started about 2 weeks before the trip. I mapped out all 3 days with the precision of a hippo on a high wire. Day 1 we'd venture into the Right Half... Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, Day 2 we'd explore Adventureland, Frontierland, and Critter Country, and Day 3 would be all about Disney CA. We looked at maps and decided on which rides we'd conquer first, we YouTube'd them (because it's important to see if the Abominable Snowman is really scary or if he just looks like a big, hairy dog). Next, we figured in some parades and shows and tried to figure out how we could win a once in a lifetime prize, because it is The Year of the 1,250,000 Dreams or something like that. Gramma and Poppy gave the boys each a very generous $25 to spend, so we discussed the importance of taking time to seriously ponder the crucial and valuable souvenier purchases to be made. And last, but not least, the most important planning of all was toprepare for change and to be flexible.

Are you tired just reading about all this Disney planning and organization?? It might sound a little compulsive, but it honestly made for the best Disney trip we've ever had... especially since Son #1 doesn't do well with surprises, carefree romps, or not being privy to when his toy acquisition will go down. Since we got a late start on Day 1, we traded Day 2 for Day 1 so we could hit Nemo first thing on Day 2, which was then Day 1. On Day 1, really Day 2, we stopped at Day 3 for lunch, because Husband wanted to eat at a restaurant in the other park. On Day 2 we did Day 1, but had to do Nemo during the fireworks because the line was 70 minutes long at 8:25am... amazing!! Day 3 was pretty much Day 3 except for Soarin' Over CA which we did on Day 1 which was actually Day 2, because we'd eaten lunch there and figured we could Fast Pass it while we were there! In the long run, it all worked out famously, and because we were oh so flexible, we had the pleasure of running into some friends on Day 1, really Day 2, because we ate at Day 3. Then we ran into some old college friends on Day 2 which was really Day 1, while we were literally flying high on Dumbo.

All in all... good times. On Day 2, really Day 1 for those of you still paying attention, a cast member handed us buttons which made us honorary citizens of Disneyland. I'm not sure what this means. I wanted to sleep in Sleeping Beauty's castle and be in the 1,250,000 Dreams Parade at 3 and 6:30 so I could do the figure 8 wave and ride in a Grand Marshall car with my boys, but apparently they felt the button was all the prize I could handle. Note for next time, cast members: I am a lot tougher than that... I could definitely handle an all expenses paid Disney Resort Vacation. I promise to jump up and down and be extremely excited for the video camera. Really!!

All I could think about as I was reading through your Disney planning escapades was "super mom meets Disneyland"--watch out! But it sounds like it paid off wonderfully, and I'm glad you all had fun. PS: I LOVED the pic of you guys with the 3-D glasses!! :)

i REALLY like the sentence.. "if i am not proactive, we'll end up reactive, and the whole scene can be quiet unattractive."

my kids can fly by the seat of their pants at disneyland, or anywhere else, but at home it is a different story. they need a plan or they start to wear on each other and me. being proactive about our days keeps me from having a lot of unattractive days.

I love it - I am the same way when I go on big trips. I love planning every detailing, and then going with the flow.

First three days done, 177 to go. But who's counting. It has been good, just exhausting and a lot to learn. My kids are so cute though! I am so bummed we didn't make it to hang out before I started, but maybe in the next few weeks once we are all back in the school-year swing of things?